Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign held in Kitengela

Kajiado,

Monday, October 9, 2023

KNA by Diana Meneto

Noonkopir Afya Foundation in partnership with the Kajiado county government, Family Bank, ED Source Africa and other partners held a one day breast cancer awareness campaign in Kitengela.

The campaign aimed at advocating the importance of breast health education and early detection by facilitating discussions between the community, medical experts and key opinion leaders as well as sharing informative materials.

While officiating the event, Kajiado County spouse of the governor Madam Edna Lenku said that it is important for people to embrace routine cancer screening as early detection saves lives and costs in treatment.

“Many families are losing their loved ones to cancer. It is therefore important for everyone to go for routine screening. If cancer is detected early while it is still in stage 1 and 2, it is easily treated but when it advances to stage 3 and 4, it will not only be difficult to treat but it will also be a huge financial burden to the family and community," said H.E Madam Lenku. 

The spouse of the governor advised residents to visit the hospital for medical checkups whenever they have any medical issue rather than just resort to using herbal concoctions.

“Due to our African traditions, we have embraced herbal medication which has been effective before but we must realize that times have changed. It is important for you to visit the hospital to get diagnosed and have the right treatment,” she said.

Margaret Masara from Noonkopir Afya Foundation said that the foundation decided to carry out free cancer screening services and awareness campaign as many people are not aware that early detection saves lives.

“Many people view cancer as a death sentence and would rather keep away from knowing whether they have it or not. It is important therefore to create awareness that it is not a death sentence and once diagnosed early, it can be treated at a lesser cost than when it has advanced,” said Masara.

She also emphasized the importance of having a well-balanced diet to build the body's immunity and to avoid malnutrition which often hastens the advancement of the condition. 

Priscilla Wamuyu, a breast cancer survivor also encouraged residents to go for routine cancer screening saying that it saves a lot on costs.

“I used to ignore the cancer screening services until I discovered two lumps on my left breast. It was diagnosed as cancer and since it was on advanced stages, I had a mastectomy which could have not been the case if I had gone for routine cancer screening,” said Wamuyu.

Apart from the free breast and cervical cancer screening services, the residents also learnt about dietary interventions and wellness from the experts.

Free breast cancer screening will continue at Mawepi Centres in Miriam’s' Place and Kilimani until 30th October.

Courtesy; KNA